In the recent past, the prior art has termed devices which hold or constrain the railway members in place as "anchors". There are a number of such "anchor" devices fully explained in patent references. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,274, issued to R. Hudson, Sept. 15, 1981 for "RAIL TRACK", concerns the utility of a device which permits assembly of rail tracks without the use of bolts. The Hudson patent teaches that the rail tracks may be fitted with a secured device at the ends, and a cooperating bored hole permits the further attachment of a grooved part which locks the rails together. Suitable hardware then locks the grooved part to the secured device. It is pointed out that the referenced patent requires that a considerable amount of parts, and machining be done for proper assembly. Further, it is not understood how to support the rail track members when the abutting ends of the rail members are positioned over a space between rail tie members.
Another reference patent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,926, issued Dec. 19, 1967 to W. Blackford for "RAIL ANCHOR". The Blackford patent is concerned with gripping the rail member. There is an engineering concern when the prior art is considered wherein, the design of such locking and joining members would best be carried out with a symmetrical cross section, so as to evenly distribute vertical loading imposed on the rail members. In retrospect, it is with the foregoing prior art in mind that the present invention is hereby presented, with a view towards improving the connections of rail members as well as their support.